Photoinitiated homopolymerization and copolymerization of furfuryl methacrylate and N-vinylpyrrolidone

The study of the homo- and copolymerization of furfuryl methacrylate (F) and vinylpyrrolidone (P) in bulk, initiated by the photoactivation of AIBN at low temperatures (0 and 40 degrees C), is described. The kinetic diagrams for the homopolymerization of F and P were obtained following the evolution of the heat of reaction by DSC, and revealed the autoacceleration and the vitrification effects on the polymerization rate. The influence of oxygen in the photoinitiated polymerization was analyzed by determining the steady-state concentration of oxygen from the kinetic data obtained for polymerizations performed out in the presence and absence of oxygen. The results obtained indicate that P is more sensitive than F to the presence of oxygen in free radical polymerization. The photoinitiated copolymerization process is little affected by the concentration of monomers, giving similar R(p) and Phi(m) values for both systems. However, at low polymerization temperature 0 degrees C non-crosslinked copolymers are obtained, whereas at a temperature of 40 degrees C, the copolymers prepared at conversion higher than 20 mol % become crosslinked as a result of the active participation of the furfuryl ring in the polymerization process at this temperature. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.